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Crochet octopus: a round head with eight curly legs

Make a 30-stitch ball for the head, place the eyes, close it, then make 8 legs: chain 16 and work 2 single crochets in each chain so they curl. Sew the legs around the bottom.

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Amigurumi roundsUS termsHook: 3.5 mm (US E-4), for tight stitchesSize from your washed swatchDK or worsted yarn

Know these stitches: magic ring, single crochet, single crochet decrease, crochet increase, chain

The finished octopus.

Materials and yarn planning

Yarns we’ve reviewed that suit it: Bernat Softee Cotton yarn, Knit Picks Dishie Cone yarn, Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton DK yarn. For the hook, choose by size and handle.

Yarn estimate from the stitch counts: about 36 m of yarn. That allows about 4 cm of yarn per tight single crochet, plus a quarter for tails and sewing. One 50 g ball of a light or medium yarn holds about 80 m or more, so one ball is enough.

Finished size and gauge

If S single crochets measure 10 cm in your tight swatch, the widest round of 30 stitches is 30 × 10 ÷ S cm around, so the head is about 30 × 10 ÷ (S × 3.14) cm across. These are calculations from the counts, not a measured sample.

The gauge calculator compares your swatch with the pattern. A stitch name you do not know is in the abbreviation chart; a UK pattern’s names are in the US/UK term reference.

The pattern

Count rows for this pattern

Head

  1. Round 1: make a magic ring and work 6 sc in it. Mark the first stitch and work in a spiral without joining (6 stitches).
  2. Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch (12 stitches).
  3. Round 3: [sc in the next stitch, 2 sc in the next stitch] 6 times (18 stitches).
  4. Round 4: [sc in the next 2 stitches, 2 sc in the next stitch] 6 times (24 stitches).
  5. Check the fabric now: hold it up to the light. If you can see gaps between the stitches, stuffing will show through them; start again with a hook 0.5 mm smaller.
  6. Round 5: [sc in the next 3 stitches, 2 sc in the next stitch] 6 times (30 stitches).
  7. Rounds 6–12: sc in each stitch (30 stitches).
  8. Place the safety eyes now, while the head is still wide open: between Rounds 9 and 10, about 6 stitches apart. Fix the backs firmly. Safety eyes and other small parts can come loose: for a toy meant for a baby or a child under 3, embroider the eyes with yarn instead.
  9. Round 13: [sc in the next 3 stitches, invisible decrease] 6 times (24 stitches).
  10. Round 14: [sc in the next 2 stitches, invisible decrease] 6 times (18 stitches).
  11. Round 15: [sc in the next stitch, invisible decrease] 6 times (12 stitches). Stuff the head firmly.
  12. Round 16: invisible decrease 6 times (6 stitches). Fasten off, thread the tail through the front loops of the last round and pull it closed.

Legs: make 8

  1. Chain 16. Starting in the second chain from the hook, work 2 sc in each chain across: 30 sc. The leg twists into a curl as you go.
  2. Fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing. Do not press the curl flat.

Assemble

  1. Round 14 has 18 stitches, so 8 legs cannot sit exactly evenly. Mark stitches 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14 and 16 of that round: two stitches apart, with a three-stitch gap after the fourth and the eighth leg. Pin a leg at each mark, look at the octopus from below, then sew each leg on through both loops and weave the tails into the head.

Check the work

Head totals: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, then 30 for seven rounds, then 24, 18, 12 and 6. Each leg has 30 sc from 15 chains.

Single crochets by round, main piece6 · 12 · 18 · 24 · 30 · 30 · 30 · 30 · 30 · 30 · 30 · 30 · 24 · 18 · 12 · 6
  • If a leg stays straight, count its stitches: 15 chains with 2 sc in each make 30.
  • If the eyes sink in, stuff more firmly around them before closing.

Updated . Stitch counts checked row by row; we haven’t crocheted a sample of this one yet. How the patterns are checked. Keep your yarn label, hook and swatch on the printable project worksheet.

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